Civil History
Antiquities
At the time of the erection of the House of Gogarburn in 1811, some Roman remains were discovered in digging for the foundation, and in a gravel-pit opened in the park to the south of the house. These remains were a Roman dagger or sword, with parts of the scabbard belonging to it, a fibula or clasp, used by the Romans for fixing belts, &c, and a gold ring, very thin and hollow. They are now deposited in the private museum of Mrs. Thomson, Forth Street, Edinburgh, the relict of the first proprietor of Gogarburn.
When Corstorphine Castle, the ancient residence of the Forresters, was levelled with the ground about fifty years ago, some of the workmen engaged, when digging near the house, discovered a deposit of gold and silver coins. Oatman Barclay, their overseer, distributed some part of the treasure among them, and retained the rest for his own use. The quantity he obtained was of so much value that he immediately left his employment, and continued to maintain himself on the proceeds of the discovery while he lived. This conduct led to suspicion, and he was imprisoned, with the view of compelling him to give up what he had found, but the attempt was unsuccessful, for no portion of the treasure was traced except a few foreign coins which he had sold to a jeweller in Edinburgh. There is in the custody of the schoolmaster*, a curious old box, formed out of a piece of excavated oak-wood, having a lid in which there is a slit for the admission of money, which was fixed by large iron hinges. It has double locks and
two key holes, but the padlock has been broken off, and the hinges are also destroyed. This box formerly had a broad belt attached to it, by which it was slung to the breast of the begging monk, and the object of the two keys evidently was to secure its contents for the use of the collegiate establishment with which he was connected. In the churchyard of Gogar there is a large circular basin of freestone, used as the depository of the holy water in times of Popery.
*Alexander Simpson
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